Retractable bulkhead



F. s. ROGALLA 2,808,009

RETRACTABLE BULKHEAD Oct. 1, 1957 Filed Jan. 20, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w l g '2 6 INVENTOR u IO FRANK s. ROGALLA.

. ATTORNEY Oct 1957 F. s. ROGALLA RETRACTABLE BULKHEAD 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 20, 1954 IN VENTOR FRANK S. ROGALLA ATTORNEY Oct'l, 1957 F. s. ROGALLA RETRACTABLE BULKHEAD 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 20, 1954 INVENTOR 28 FRANK s. ROGALLA.

BY M ATTORNEY Oct. 1, 1957 F. s. RO'GALLA 2,303,009

RETRACTABLE BULKHEAD FiledJan. 20, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 29 27 FRANK S. ROGALLA.

ATTORNEY ited This invention relates to a retractable bulkhead for use in railway box cars, ships, trucks, aircraft or other carriers of cargo where it is essential to brace the load against shifting while in transit.

It is common practice at the present time to construct such bulkheads by means of barriers which are constructed of wood that is nailed or otherwise secured in position to brace the load. This entails a large amount of time thus increasing the cost of shipping the cargo. It results in injury to the walls to which the barrier is nailed which, in time, are totally destroyed by repeated erecting. and dismantling of the same and it results, in

loss of the material from which the barriers are made since the repeated removal causes breakage which, in time, renders the barriers useless.

ln addition to the foregoing, it is necessary to construct and erect bulkheads for each individual load depending on the size of the load sothat the bulkhead may be attached at any of a number of points along the length of the carrier and must be torn'down' each time the cargo is to be unloaded, thus resulting in additional expense and waste.

Additionally, in some carriers, the bulkheads must be of such height in order to properly brace the load, that workmen installing the same must resort tothe use of ladders thus making the operation not only more time consuming but also more dangerous for the workmen.

All of these factors contribute to the expense of transporting cargo, and since it is known that insurance claims for damage during shipment run into the millions of dollars annually, it will be appreciated that a simple, permanent, inexpensive, and reliableibulkhead for load bracing is highlydesirable.

The present invention overcomes all of the difficulties of prior practices and has for its main objective the provision of a bulkhead that can be installed in a box ear, ship, truck, or aircraft once and for all time while being capable of bracing any given size load due to its adjustability throughout the length of the carrier.

In addition, the bulkhead of the present invention need never be dismantled or removed to permit loading or unloading but is capable of being retracted to a position where full access to the cargo may be had for unloading purposes.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of means which act on the cargo retaining members to place them under tension, thereby drawing the members taut about the load and firmly holding the same in position, the members being so constructed that loads imposed on the retaining members insure the positioning of the tensioning means in tensioning position. 7

Still another feature resides in the means for locking the bulkhead in any of a number of positions throughout the length of the carrier together with a release mechanism which withdraws the locking means to permit adjustment of the bulkhead to the proper position for use of any given lead.

A further feature is the provision of flexible load retaining members which are wound on spring reels at one side of the carrier and which may be unwound against the force of the spring and extended across the load for attachment to the opposite side of the carrier for quick 'atent A attachment to the tensioning means, the spring reels acting to retract the load retaining members to one side of the carrier when released and permit free access to the load.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the attached drawings forming part hereof, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment is shown and described and that changes and modifications may be resorted to so long as they fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the inside of one end of a box-ear showing the present invention installed therein,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view. of the adjustable column carrying the tensioning means for the load retaining elements shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of the column shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view of the adjacent adjustable column carrying the load retainer retracting means shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of the column shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the tensioning means for the load retaining members,

Fig. 7 is a detail view, partially in section, of the load retainer retracting means,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken on lines 8 8 of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, sectional, detail showing the locking means and release mechanism for the adjustable columns.

In the drawings there is shown in Fig. 1 the inside of a box car looking toward one end thereof, and whilethe invention will be described as used in such a car, it is not intended that it should be limited to such use. It is equally applicable to ships, trucks, aircraft, and other cartiers of cargo.

As shown, the box car consists of a bottom 10, side walls 11 and 12, top 13, and end walls, one of which is shown at 14.

Extending longitudinally of the car are tracks 15, 16, 17, and 18, the tracks 15 and 16 being located at the upper and lower edges of the side wall 11, respectively, and the tracks 17 and 18 .being located at the upper and lower edges of the side wall 12, respectively. The tracks may take the form of angle irons having oppositely extending vertical flanges 19, 20, 21 and 22 spaced from the side walls of the car and being provided with apertures 23 spaced along said flanges throughout their lengths.

Slidable along the tracks 15 and 16 along one side of the car is a vertically extending hollow column 24 and a similar column 25 is slidable along the tracks 17 and 18 at the opposite side of the car. The columns may be supported by rollers riding on the angle irons but this is not essential. The columns 24 and 25 are guided in their movement along the tracks by means of clips 26 secured to the face of the columns and straddling the vertical flanges of the track members and lying in the space between said flanges and the side walls 11 and 12 of the 'car. After the columns 24 and 25 have been positioned along the car length with reference to a given load they must be locked against movement. This is accomplished by means of spring pressed bolts 27 at the upper and lower ends of the respective columns. The bolts extend transversely of the columns and are guided by brackets 28 so as to project from the columns and pass through the apertures 23 in the flanges 19, 20, 21 and 22. As shown in Figs. 3 and 6 the bolts are provided with heads 29 acting against the side faces of the columns to limit the projecting movement thereof and are further of the reels and tensioning levers may be changed to meet varying needs, and while the tracks along which the columns 24 and 25 ride are shown as extending longitudinally of the box car, they may be arranged in any manner so long as the purposes and objects of the invention are carried out.

From the foregoing it is clear that the present invention provides a retractable bulkhead or load brace which may be permanently installed in a carrier but which will in no way interfere with loading or unloading operations. Due to its construction, it may be used time after time for any size load without the necessity for erecting and dismantling with each loading or unloading operation, and due to its rugged construction and simplicity of operation very little if any maintenance is required. Thus expensive protective measures are eliminated, shipping costs and insurance claims for damaged cargo reduced, and the time required for loading and unloading materially curtailed. No special skill is required on the part of workmen, and the elimination of waste material, wear, and tear on the carrier insures long life of both the bulkhead and carrier.

In operation, the cargo is loaded into the carrier. The columns 24 and 25 are then moved into position adjacent the cargo and locked in such position. The tensioning levers 52 are swung to release position, after which the cables are pulled oil of the reels, stretched across the load, and secured to the tensioning levers. The levers are then swung back into the colurrm and in so doing stretch the cable taut against the load, whereupon the loading operation is complete. when the carrier has reached its destination it is merely necessary to swing the tensioning levers to release position. The spring reels then retract the cables thus exposing the cargo for unloading purposes.

I claim:

1. A load brace for holding cargo in place in a carrier during shipment, comprising a pair of upper and lower tracks extending along one wall of the carrier and a pair of upper and lower tracks extending along an opposite wall of said carrier, a column extending between the pair of tracks on one side of the carrier and a column extending between the pair of tracks on said opposite wall, said columns being slidable along said tracks, means for locking said columns to said tracks in any of a number of positions along said tracks, a plurality of spring reels carried by one of said columns in spaced relation along said column, independent flexible extensible and contractible cargo restraining elements secured to and wound about said reels, a plurality of securing means carried by the opposite column spaced along said column to correspond to the spacing of said reels, means on said restraining elements detachably connected to said securing means when the restraining means are unwound from said reels and extended across the space between said columns, and stop means carried by said flexible cargo restraining elements and engageable with means on said reel carrying column to prevent further extension of said flexible cargo restraining elements when said flexible elements are extended across the space between said columns.

2. A load brace as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring reels are biased to retract the restraining elements when released from said securing means.

3. A load brace for holding cargo in place in a carrier during shipment, comprising an upper and lower track extending along one wall of the carrier and an upper and lower track extending along an opposite wall of the carrier, each of said tracks being provided with a plurality of apertures spaced along the length thereof, columns extending between the pairs of tracks at each side of the carrier and slidably mounted thereon, means for locking said columns to said tracks in any one of a number of positions therealong, said means comprising spring pressed bolts carried at opposite ends of the columns and projecting into the apertures in said tracks, and means for retracting said bolts to permit movement of the columns on said tracks, said means comprising sliding cam bars mounted within said columns and having cams thereon engaging said bolts to move the bolts against the action of the springs and a plurality of load restraining elements extending across the carrier from one column to the other and secured thereto.

4. A load brace for holding cargo in place in a carrier during shipment, comprising a pair of tracks on one wall of the carrier and another pair of tracks on an opposite wall thereof, each pair consisting of upper and lower track members, tubular columns extending between each pair of tracks at opposite sides of the carrier and slidable therealong, a plurality of spring reels carried within one of said columns and spaced along the length thereof, a plurality of tensioning means carried within the other column and spaced along the length thereof to correspond to the spacing of the reels, and independent flexible extensible and retractable cable's wound on said reels and extensible across the space between said columns, said cables having means thereon detachably secured to said tensioning means to draw the cables taut upon operation of the tensioning means, and stop means carried by said flexible cables and engageable with means on said reel carrying column to prevent further extension of said flexible cables when said cables are extended across the space between said columns.

5. A load brace for holding cargo in place in a carrier during shipment, comprising an upper and lower track extending along one wall of the carrier and an upper and lower track extending along an opposite wall of the carrier, hollow columns extending between the pairs of tracks at each side of the carrier and slidably mounted thereon, and means for locking said columns to said tracks in any one of a number of positions therealong, one of said columns having apertures spaced therealong, and spring reels mounted in said column in registry with each aperture the other column having apertures therein spaced therealong to correspond to the spacing of the apertures in the first mentioned column, tension means in said other column in registry with each of the apertures therein, a plurality of extensible and contractible restraining members wound on said reels and extensible across the space between said columns and having means on their ends for engagement with said tension means in the said other column, and stop means carried by said restraining members and engageable with means on said reel carrying column to prevent further extension of said restraining members when said restraining members are extended across the space between said columns.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,189,151 Madison June 27, 1916 1,771,950 Bourquin July 29, 1930 1,819,978 Shur Aug. 18, 1931 1,825,452 Harris Sept. 29, 1931 1,928,532 Gillespie Sept. 26, 1933 1,970,610 McMullen et a1 Aug. 21, 1934 2,155,872 Reifer et al Apr. 25, 1939 2,165,652 Reifer et al July 11, 1939 2,226,373 Frear Dec. 24, 1940 2,227,807 Dixon J an. 7, 1941 2,490,434 Harris Dec. 6, 1949 2,509,966 Cox May 30, 1950 2,546,929 Nampa Mar. 27, 1951 2,603,167 Webster et a1 July 15, 1952 2,612,122 Peterson Sept. 30, 1952 2,674,207 Kerbaugh et al Apr. 6, 1954 2,679,670 Griswold June 1, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 831,406 Germany Feb. 14, 1952 

